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SPEECH 




HON. JOHN' Q. ADAMS, OF MASSACHUSETTS, 



UN HIS 



RR80LirnON FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A SELECT COMAimXE 



TO IKaUlRK IHTO 



THE CAUSES OF THE FAILURE 



Ol- TRK 



FORTIFICATION BILL • .^ 



AT THi-: LAST SESSION OF CONGRESS. 



DELIVERED JAN. Ih?, 1830. 




WASHINGTON. 
ni.&iu t HIVES, PRiHTtns. 



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IS'OTES IN THE CAl'lTOL. 

We never saw more exciu-iueiit ill a d(.'libcrative as- 
sembly lliaii was inanitlsli-'d in the House ol floprescnla- 
tivesion I'nday, duiiiig the speeclies of Mr. Adauis and 
Mr. Wise. 'I'he vexed question of tlie 'J'hree Million 
aiiKTiidiiient was the irritalmg subject. The discussion 
was coaiiiienced by Mr. Caiiibreleng, wlio coimneiited 
will) irreal force uiid inJitrnalion upon a slalenit nt ap- 
pearihir in a inorning^ paper, the Ti.lcgriipli, condemn- 
iiiij liis conduct upon tliat occasion, wiiicli Mr. C. pro- 
nounced to be lai.se. He concluded by saying lliat 
both parties in the House should unite to vindicate tiial 
body Iroin the aspersions u hicii had been cast upon it 
in another. This was prnii:;unced in a marked and em- 
phatic inaniier, and e.vcited much attention. Mr. Adams 
immeduitel}' rose, and for two liours lie kept tiie Mouse 
ill a stale ol more com|)lete and tliorouyh e.xcitenient than 
either body lias witnessed Jbr many years. He com- 
mifft'd himself at once and decisively to hostility with the 
Senate, lakinyfeven a hij^her ground than had ever been 
assumed by tlie jiartizaiis ol" the Adminislralion in con- 
demniii-^ lliat body, lie threw wilhoiU reserve l!ie en- 
tire blame of the loss of tiiat memoral)le bill upon its 
majority, and in a strain of indignant invective, he de- 
nounced the allusion in a late deljale to the IJouse, as 
•• insolence,' which the lirst legislative body in liie land 
should not be asked to bear. Auainst Mr. Webster he 
was particularly severe, and he seemed to throw his 
whole soul into his words when — alluding to that gen- 
ticman's declaration in a late .speech that he would not 
have voted otherwise had liie enemy been battering at 
the gates of the Capitol — he said '■ there was but one 
step beyond such an cAjjression of sentiment, and a most 
natural step tool — It would be only for a man whocoultl 
utter such a sentiment, to go himself over to that enemy 
and help to batter down tlie Capitol ! " 

We never saw any thing produce such a strong sen- 
sation as these e.vtraonlmary words. The Adiiiinistra- 
lion members in ail parts ot the House gave way to a 
burst of applause, which was instantly reprobated by the 
Chair. Mr. Polk in the greatest excitement Stirling to 
his feet, and violently using his hammer, declaring at 
the same time "that for the last ten years, and ever since 
the formation of the Government, there had never been 
such au instance of disorder and contempt of the rules of 
the House." A fact in wliicii he was ji)ined by several of 
the old members crying out, "A'o, no, nc.cer, never!'' 

Mr. Adams with increased vt heinence continued in 
the same strain for about two hours, and ended by 
moving for a Committee to enquire into the loss of the 
• bill. 

As a specimen of Mr. .Ail.ims's power, liiis remarkable 
speech was one of the very' linest he ever uttered — being 
distinguished lor pointeil sarcasm and eloquent invec- 
tive — and at the same lime marked with all the speaker's 
felicity of language and variety of illu.-^tration. His 
manner was highly animated and im|)ressive, and it was 
listened to by the House with a degree of high-wrouifht 
attention, which has never been surpassed on any occa- 
sion. It was evident that the whole impul.se and feel- 
ing of party comieciiim was laid open to its core, and 
every meiiiber siemed fully and nakedly put njion his 
allegiance. 

Mr. Wel'strr was present almost from the commence- 
ment of the debate, and the lobby was crowiled with Se- 
nators and other distinguished indiviiUials. Mr. Web- 
ster's i)resence in the House e.\eited great interest, and 
many anxious and curious eyes were continually- turned 
to the right hand iloor where lie was seated; but no one 
who saw thai dark brow and dei'p set eye. but must have 
felt assured of his abundant ])ower to sustain himself 
under any aggression. 



/ 



SPEECH. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 1836. 

Mr. Cambkeleng ruse ami said. Mi'. Sjiealcci', I iniisl ask the iniliilj^enee of the House for 
one moment, to noiice an attack made on me in one of the morning papers ol' this city to-da}'. 

The CiiAiRsaid it could only he done by the nuaniinous conseni of tlie House. 

No objeetion was made; tincl 

Mr. Ca.mbrei,enu proceeded: Mr. Speaker, the attack 1 would not notice, were it not, sir, 
that it is an attack also upon this Kouse, and involves the question now before the Senate of 
the United States. That attack is, that the remarks 1 made upon the three million appropria- 
tion bill, al the lasl session, were not published until alter the adjf)urnmcni of Congress, follow- 
ing it up with the insinuation that these remarks never were made. It is not my purpose, sir, 
on a ques;ion like this, when 1 have so much higher game, to run a tilt with the editor of the 
United S;ates Telegraph; I merely notice it to pronounce the siatement and the insinuation 
both false, and to state, that when the opportunity does arrive to discuss this question, there 
wi!>uld not only be found one, hut more tLnn one member of this House, not only on one side, 
b\it on bu:h sides of the House, w ho will vindicate the pioceedings of this House in relation 
to ihat bill, from the attacks of the other body. 

The Sp.-'-.AKEr. .said ii M'as not in order to allude to the other body. 

Mr. Ad\ms asked the consent of the House to submit a resolution in connection with the 
subject. 

The resolution was read for the information of the House, as follows: 

Resolved, That .so much of the message of the President of the United Stales to Congress 

nt the cominencemeiit of the present session, as relates to the I'ailure. at the last se-ssion of 

Congress, of the bill containing the ordinaiy^ appropriation for fortifications, be referred to a 

-select committee, with instructions to inquire into, and report to the House, the causes and 

circumstances of the failure of that bill. 

Objection being made, Mr. Mii.i.f.ii moved lo suspend the rule of the House to enable the 
gentleman from Massachusetts to offer his resolution; which inoUon prevailed — yeas 129, 
nays GO. 

\Ir. AoAM.sthen submitted the foregoing resolution. 

Mr. Williams, of North Carolina, moved to amend the resolution, by giving the select 
coiumiitee power to send for persons and papers. 

Air. J. Q,. Adams said, thnt the portion of the President's message wliich 
reierred to this subject wtis in these words : 

■ Much loss and inconvenience have been experienced in con.sequence of the failure of the 
bill containing the ordinary appropriations for fortifications, which p;isscd one branch of the 
National Legislature at the hist session, but was lo.-t in the other. This failure was the more 
regretted, not only because it necessarily interrupted and delayed the progress^f a .system of 
national defence, projected immediately afier the last war, and since steadily pursued, but also 
because i: contained a contingent appropriation, inserted in accordance with the views of the 
Executive, in aid of this important object, 'ind other branches of the national defence, some 
portions of which might have been most iisctully applied durintr the past season. I invite 
your early attention to that part of the report of the Secretary of War which relates to this 
subject, and recommend an appropriation sufficiently liberal to accelerate the armament of the 
fortificalions, agreeably to the projiositioii submitted by him, and lo place our whole Atlantic 
.seaboard in a complete stale ol defence. A just regard to the permanent intere.sLs of the 
coimtry evidently requires this measure, but then: are also other reasons which, at the present, 
juncture, give :: peculiar force, and make it my duty to call to the subj.-cl your special cor^ 
sideration." ■ 

He thought that was all that related to the subject, tmd he offered Jfrhe 
resblutiou for the appoiiituient of a comniittee with instructions to enquire 
and report as to the facts relating- to the loss of the three nlilhon apppjpria- 
tioii'bill, principally in consequence of wliat had taken place in siioiher 



quarter upon this subject. 



/ 
/ 



\ 



The Chair reminded the gentleman from Massachusetts, that it was not 
in order to allude to the Senate. 

Mr. A. said lie was perfectly well dispo.sed to observe the rules established^ 
and would o^o no further in reference to what had taken place in the Senate, 
than the rules would authorize. He said that lie had oliered the resolution 
in consequence of what had occurred in another place. He had not said that 
tliat place was the Senate of the United States. That was a matter which 
any gentleman was competent to determine for himself where the place 
was. He said this because, although perfectly aware that, in point of forn\ 
there is a rule, )iever observed, that no .-illusion shall be made in debate, in 
either House, to what is passing in the other ; yet. unless allusion to what 
was going forward in the other branch of the Legislature should be per- 
mitted, it would take from him the possibility of stating the real grounds 
on which he asked a committc^o of the House. He did not refer nominally 
tt) any thing that had taken place m the Senate, but he did refer to what 
had taken place elsewhere, and he should proceed and have reference to 
what had occurred in another place, as long as it should be the pleasn.n' ol 
tiie Speaker or the House to permit him. 

Tiie Spkake]i here read the rule which applied to the case, and Mr. 
Ad.\ms was about proceeding, wlien 

Mr. Mercer called him to order. The gentleman from Massachusetts 
liad not nombialbj alluded to the Senate, but he had h-itcntionaUy^ and 
was therefore out of order. 

The Sfkakeh said, that, according to parliamentary usage, the objec- 
tionable words must be reduced to writing. 

Mr. Mercer declined reducing the Vvords to writing, and withdrew the 
call to order. 

Mr. Adams resumed. He v.-ould endeavor, as far as was in his ability^ 
to avoid any collision, not only with the letter, btit v.-ith the spirit of the 
rules, to v.'hicii the gcnitleman from Virginia (Mr. Mercer) had appealed, 
and would therefore transfer the location of the ))lacc wliere these tilings 
had haj.'pened, from the Senate of the United States to the office of the 
National Intelligencer, and would ask the gentleman il' he luul any objec- 
tion to that .' 

Mr. Mercer said he olijectcd to a quilifle, w idi a view of reaching 
anoth(!r branch of Congress, contiary to the rules ol' order. 

Mr. Adams. In the National Intelligencer, the olficial printer to the 
Sena1(! of the I'nited States, ihere was ])ublis}ied a re] oit of proceeding.^ 
which liad taken place in a ceiiain body; and \n that uew.spa]:er he Ibiuid 
charged, not only that the statement in the message of the President of 
United Sljjtes was not true, but ll.at the failure of that b.iil was not 
(1 by the Senale of the I'nited States; that it did not fail th( re, but 
t failed in another House, ^\lle^e was that.' ^Vas it this House? 
r; that House exists no longer. Bm if was in t'lis hall; and the 
which is now here consists, in a grc^.t measure, of the identical indi- 
who composed that House. On*' hundred and iorly members of 
use are also mtnnlt'is oi this House. And in tiia.t same National 
ncer he found the charge, not only that the failure of that bill was 
the fault of that House, but that il died tiieie. and there its bone,s 
• sought. He Ibiuid it also charged, that in the progre.^.s of t)ic 
<t \^ "tJiat bill, the most violent outiai^es were connuiltetl on the consii- 

^ ^^ t*^ ''.c United States, by the Fresidcnt and by the House, in coiispiraey 



.s^^^o^^X 



together. It was admitted on all hands, that the failure of the bill was 
occasioned by the intvnduction of a section into it. appropriating three 
millions of dollars for the defence of the country: and the President now 
tells us, that the failure of that ap])ropriiiti()n was a subject of o-reat incon- 
venience to the i*cople of the country. On this subject an issue has l)een 
taken in the National Intelligencer : and thnt issu(> involved not merely the 
President of the United States, but it involved thi' Mouse of Representatives. 
That was an additional reason why he wished for a connnittee to ]n(]uire 
into the matter. That reason, he hoped, would be sufficient for every member 
who felt his honor implicated, to call for investigation, and have thesuliject 
examined, to shovr where the failure of that bill was to be charged, ile had. 
he repeated, said, that he considered it the first duty of every branch of 
Government, to harmonize with the other branches of the Government in 
doing the business of the People. It was the duty of the members of the 
House of Re})n>scntatives to sui)i)ort the President of the United States, 
and the Executive Goveriunent of the country, in every measure a}»propri- 
ately belonging to his high ofiice : and, in like manner, it was equally his 
duty to support the other branches of the Government : and that this tluty 
Avas obligatory and roci])rora1 ii})on the Senate and President. This he had 
always considered as the first duty of every person concerned hi adminis- 
tering the Government, whetlier "of the Executive or Legislative depart- 
ments. It w:(S a subsequent duty, that each of these powers was to be a 
watchman and sentinel over the proceedintrs of the other. This, between 
the branches of the Legislature, was a inatter of extreme importance, 
and was scarcely less important, in the relations between botli and each of 
the branches of the Legislature and the President. The appropriation 
of three millions of dolhirs for tiic defence of the country, was inserted in 
the general fortification bill, by amendment, proposed by the gcntlonmn 
from New York, (?,!r. Cambreleng;) in consequence of a resolution, which 
had passed unanimously in the' House, and by which unanimous vote 
the House declared thiit the execution of the treaty of tlie 4th of July. I831._ 
with France, should be insisted on. It was well known to every member of 
the House, and he believed to every person out of the House, that the ap- 
propriation of three millions was introduced in consequence of the vote on 
tliat resolution the night before. It Avas v.-ell known that the resolution, 
Avhich finally passed by that vote, had been contested by a debate of scA'eral 
days immediately before its pa.ssage, upon grounds that such a resolution 
would occasion war. If von look, said he, to the journals of the House 
for tlie resolution which jwssed. and to tlie severrd resolutions propo.sed as 
substitutes for it. you Avill see that it was admitted with extreme reluctance 
by many members of tlie House, that it was ardently and perseveringly 
contested, and upon the iri'ounds that it v/ould occasion a Avar. Under these 
circumstances, althouLdi the House AA'-ere not of opinion that it would give 
just cause for war, still, how was it possible for a statesman, looking to the 
interests of our common country, not to see that these reasons so pressed 
upon the consideration of the House, and. looking to the action of another 
GoA'-ernment, ini'rht liaA-e that tendency. The conduct of a foreign (iovern- 
rnent, to be prerlicated upon this act of our own, was matter of fbresi-jht and 
-conjecture. There was misunderstanding and irritation between our 
Government and that of France. Tlie uiiimber.s of the House Avho had 
resisted the pi'^sago ot the re=;oluiion. inlelligent and patriotic men. had 
urged the House against it, and all the tender symi)athies of our nature and 



all the sentiments of hnnianity in our bosoms, had been appealed to, a>- 
warnings against that resolution. The in age oi uar. in all its terrors, and 
with all its calamities, had been held up belorc ns to deter the House from 
the assertion of ilie nation's rights, and of the nation's honor, contained in 
tliat resolution. Conscious that the resolution could not gi^X" any just cause 
of oflence, the House did not beheve that it would oii'end or endanger the 
peace of the country ; yet, in deference to the lears of tlje rijinority, and as 
an earnest, of their sincerity in the determination to inaisf upon the execu- 
tion of the treaty, it was deemed fitting that the country should put itself in 
an idtiiudc oi' defence, to meet the worst possible ccntingcncy, and t-j sustain 
that resolution whicli they unanimiously passed. These were the grounds 
upon which that item was introduced on the last day of the session. And 
why on tb.e last day? Because it was only the night before that the unani- 
mous vote liad passed. 

in all the debate iii the National Intelligencer to which lie had referred, 
there was no more trace of such a resolution as having passed tlie House 
tlum if it had never existed. i\o more trace than could be found on the 
journal of the .Senate of what they would do far the drftncc of the coimlry, 
or to insist upon the execution of the treaty of July. But in that debate 
in the National Intelligencer, he found a prodigious display of eloquence 
against the constitutionality of this section appropriating thiee millions of 
dollars for the defence of the country, because it liad not been recommended 
by the Executive. 

Mr. Meiicer again rose to order. He charged that the gentleman was 
alluding to a debate in the Senate. 

The Spkakkr said that the gentleman must reduce the exceptionable 
words to writing. 

Mr. Mercku reduced to writing and proceeded to read the words which 
he alleged were used by the gentleman from Massaclnisetts. He did this, 
he remarkcxl, with reluctance; but it was for the pur]:ose of preserving that 
comity and harmony between the two bodies, that the gentleman had re- 
ferred to, and which he no doubt desired to njaintain, that he had felt called 
upon l)y a sense of duty to raise the (luestion of order. 

■^riie words Uiken down by Mr. Mkrckh were read at the Clerks table, 
and the Speaker inquired of the gentleman from Massachusetts, whether 
he admitted their correctness .' 

Mr. Adam.s. Tb.e gentleman I'rom Virginia (Mr. Mercer) had-expressed 
great aversion to ([nibbling. 

Mr. Parker iiere rose and urged that order should be maintained, as it 
was impo.ssiljle to understand what was going on while the members were 
standing or moving about. 

Mr. Mercer said the gentleman from Massachusetts might modify the 
language which he had reduced to writing. 

Mr. Adaims proceeded to state wherein the gentleman from Virginia had 
not correctly stated the vroids which he had used. 

Mr. Merceh said the <\ itlent nufoiiiiff oi tlie gentleuian, in his opinion, 
authori/ed t!u; terms which he had employed in reference to the exception 
he had takcwi. 

Mr. Ai)Ai\is said, as he understood the rule, exce])lion must be taken to 
the wordti of a member, not to any meaning- which any gentlemKU might 
think proper to attach to his words. He entered into a further explanation 
of the terms wJdch he had employed. 



Mr. Mercer expressed liis dissatislaction with the explanation, and he 
felt bound to persevere in tlie motion which he had made. 

Mr. Wise hoped the gentleman from Massachusetts would be permitted 
to proceed, whether in order or out of order. If ever there was a c;vse 
where members should be peruiilted to speak frankly on both sides, in order 
that the truth and the whole truth might bo elicited, this was one. 

After some conversation between the Speaker and Messrs. H.\rdin, 
Merger, and Adams, the question wiis put, and the House decided l)y a 
large majority, that tlie words taken down by ^Mr. Mkrci:ii were not used 
by'Mr. Adams. 

Mr. Whittlesey called for the orders of the day. 

Tiie Chair decided the motion out of order, the House having .sus- 
})cnded all its rules to enable the gentleman from Massacliusetts to submit 
iiis resolution. 

Mr. Adams continued. He said his object in offering the resolution was 
precisely the sam-, with that which had induced his honorable friend from 
Vir<Tinia to interpose this objection of mere forniality against it; namely, to 
restore harmony between all the departments of the Government, not only 
between the House and the Senate, but also between both Houses of Con- 
gress and the Executive Departments of the Government, for if there ever 
was a time when iiarmony, perfect and complete, between the different de- 
partments of the (Jovernment was necessary, now was the time. The peo- 
ple of the country called for it— the interests of the nation demanded it. 
Mr. A. said these were his motives for olTering the resolution, and he trusted 
that if the House would indulge him in the appointment of the committee 
lie demanded, that that connuittee would have it in their power to report 
that all the charges made against the House were utterly groundless and 
tmfoundcd, and believing that that would be the result of the investigation, 
he lioped that it would contribute to restore the harmony whicii no long>'i- 
exists between tliC two branches of the Legislatiu'e of the country. The 
restoration of harmony depended upon the vindication of the honor of uie 
House of Representatives at the hist session of Congress; for if tluit vindi- 
cation could not be made complete, there was no prospect of any harnnny 
at the present session of Congress; and especially upon tiiat most import ant 
subject, our foreign relations— the question of peace or war. The foui?da- 
tioji of the resolution offered, was, on his part, (nitirely defensive; its object 
was to vindicate tJie House of Representatives from reflections whicli vj >re 
entirely undeserved. 

Mr. A. said it was difficult for him to reconnect togellitn- the train i»f 
t'nought, after so much interruption, which lie had wished to present to t':e 
Honse. He would, however, revert to one or two points vv'hich rcquin d 
notice. It v/as aiz^auist the introduction of the section appropriating thrc;" 
millions for the defence of the country, that the cry of unconstitutionality 
against both the Executive and House of Representatives, had been raised. 
One of the great charges wa^, that the Housp of Representatives^ had 
i!iserted that section without recommendation from the President. That 
was the great offence on which was founded the bursts of indignant elo- 
quence, which would rather seethe enemy battering down ilai walls of the 
Capitol, than aQ;ree to such an appropriation for the defiance of the country. 
Observe, sir,"once more, the terms, the objects, and the condition of that 
appropriation. It v.^as to be expended, hi whole or in part, under the di- 
rection of the President of the United States, the Executive head of the 



8, 

nation, sworn to the faithful execution of the laws : swoni especially and 
entrusted with the superintendence of all the defences of the country 
against the ravt^rcs of a foreign invader- it was to be expended for the 
" '/7i?7?7«ry and 7/« If// service, including /t»7-/i^VY///o;/,v aiul ordvanvf. and 
hicrcasc of the navy."' These, sir, the natural and approj)riate instruments 
of national defence against a foi eign foe, were the sole and exclusive objects 
of this appropriation— J lot one dollar of it could have been appliedto any otlier 
purpose by the President without a violation of his official uath. andof'his of- 
ficial trust — not one dollar of it could have been apphed by him to any other 
purposes without making himself liable to impeachment: not by that House 
of Representatives, liut by ns, their successors, fresh from the constituent 
Iwdy, the People, yet l)eli)ve that same Senate lor his judges, a majority of 
whom were surely not of his friends; not one dollar ot it could he have ex- 
pended without giving a public accomit of it to the Representatives of the 
people and the nation. Nor was this all. Thus confined lo specific ob- 
jects, it was to be expended, not imconditionally, but only in ihe event that 
it should be rendered necessary for (he defence of the conntiy, prif»r to 
the then next session of Congress, an interval of nine montlis, during 
which no other provision coidd have been made to defeiid your soil from 
a sudden invasion, or to protect your connnerce fioathig uj)on every sea, 
from a sweep of a possible royal ordinance of France. 

And this is the appro])riation followinof close upon that unanimous vote 
of two hundred and seventeen members of the House, that the execution 
of the treaty of 1S31, should be maintained and insisted on. 77iis is the 
appropriation so fainted with inan-Avorship, so corrupt, so unconstitutional. 
t})at tlie indignant and patriotic eloquence of the National Intelligencer 
would sooner see a Ibreioii enemy l)altering down the walls ol' the ("a]»itol 
than agree to it. iSir, for a man utti'iing such sentiments, there would be. 
but one step more, a natural and easy one to take, and that would be, with 
the enemy at the walls of the Capitoh to join him in battering thera down. 

[Here Mr. A. was interrupted b^' a sponlaneoits bui-st of Teelinij aiul applause from members 
oil i);e floor. The SpfViKKR immp(liatpl\' called In order. "I'he indisr.reiidii was momentary, 
awd liie most respectful silence I'ollowed.] 

Mr. A. resumed. He ho])ed he had shown that tiie s(Hiion making the 
appropriation of three millions, was introduced from absolute necessity on 
the last day oi'tbic session, because it was in con.'^equenee of the imani- 
inous vote of the day pn^ccding. AVas he now to be told that this and the 
other House must not aj)j)ropriate money unless l)y reconnnendation from 
the Executive 7 Why, sir, the Executive has told us no\v. that that aj^ 
proprialion was perfectly in accordance with his wishes. Yet liere the 
rim^ge is inverted, and unconstitutional conspiracy, and man worsliip are 
jmjtuled to this House on account of thai apjirojirialion. Invnnse it was 
ap])roverl ;ind desired by the Executive. AVhere was the possibility of a 
reco'/nnu'i/datiojiA'YOwi the ExecutiA'e ; of statements fnmi the Departments; 
of mess;(i'(s between this itnd the other House, when tlie resolution of th<^ 
House had been })asscd but the day Ik fore ! That resolution was itsell 
passed in consequence of a communication from the Executive, and in 
furtherance of the views of that officer. Then why was the charge of 
man worship made .' He would a])peal to the House to say, whctlier he 
was a wo:;shipper o! the present Executive .' He had voted for that ap 
propri-jtion, and lie r^loricd in the vote. Was he chargeable with man 



9 

worship ill voting for that appropriation 7 He had not approved the special 
fneasurea which had been recommended by the Executive at the com- 
mencement of tliat session of Congress. Neither the measure of issuing 
letters of marque a!id repris.-ils. nor tlie moasun^s of connnercial interdict 
or restriction — neither iiad Uu, House of Uc])resentHtiv('s apprr>\ed them ; 
but the House, and thank God ! the Peo})le of the country, had done iiomage 
to the spirit which !:ad urged to the recommendation, even of those niea- 
sm-cs which (hey did not a}>prove. He again rejicated. wliy was it that 
the House must be charged witli man worsliip and niiconstUutional coji- 
sph'acy, because they passed an appropriation of tln-ee milhons for i/ir 
defence of the country ^ at a time when innninent danger of war was urged, 
OS resuhing from that xcxy resohuion. which but the night before passed 
by an unanimous vote / Because, forsooth, that approj*riation had not 
been called lor by the Executive ; and yet. because it was approved by the 
Executive. 

Sir, there wore, at tlie last session of Congress, tliree systems of pohcy 
to be pursued with reoard to our then controversy with France, whicli had 
marked the proceedings of the three branches of our Govfirnment charged 
with tlie duties and the responsibihties of legislation. Tiie system of the 
President wms contained in the recommendations of his ajuiual message. 
The system of the Senate is disclosed by their resolution unanimously 
-adopted on the Idtli of January, 1S35, m tliese words, as appears upon 
their journals : 

" Resolved. Thai ii is inexpedient at jiresenl. to adopt nay lesrislalive measure in regard lo the 
stale of atfairs between tlie United Slates and France'" — 

A resolution not only declinins- to do that which the President had re- 
commended, to vindicate the rights and the honor of the nation, but posi- 
tively determining to do NOTiiiiXG — not even to express a sense of the 
wrongs which the country was enduring from France. 

Such was the system of the Senate. Tliat of the House wfis neither 
exactly that which had been recommended by the President, nor yet that 
of the Senate. It was a subject of long, of anxious, and of ardent delibe- 
ration and debate durini]: the last week of the session. 

The chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations had reported three 
resolutions; as substitutes for which. 1 had the honor of submitting to the 
consideration of the House three others. The minority of tb.e Committee 
on Foreign Relations had presented a report, concluding with a sentence, 
which, at the suggestion of the chairman of the committee, I adopted as a 
modification of my first resolution, and which the chairman of the com- 
mittee consented to take as a substitute for the first reported by him. Tiiis 
sentence, from which, willi the general assent of the House, the words "at 
all hazards" had been withdrawn, was finally moved by me, and every 
member present, two hundred and seventeen in number, answered, at thw 
call of his name, "ay." 

The resolution was in these words : 

' Resolved, That, in the opinion oi" this House, llie treaty with Fiance of the 4t)i of July, 
I.S31. should be maintained, and its e.^cecntion insisted on." 

I then withdrew the second and third of the resolutions wdiich I had 
proposed. 



10 

The second of the resolutions reported by the chairman of the Commit- 
tee on Foreign Relations was, that the committee should be discharged 
from tlie furtlicr consideration of so much of the President's message as 
related to commercial restrictions, or to reprisals on tiie commerce of France. 
It was unanimously adopted by the Honse. 

The third resolution reported by the cbairman of tbc connniltee, was: 

" Resolved, That contingent, preparation ought to he made, to meet any emergency gro'.ving 
out of ovtr relation^ witli France." 

This was the resolution intended (o sustain at once the spirit of the Pre- 
sident's recommendations, and the sincerity of tbe resolution just adopted 
by the House. 

But there was only one day left of existence to the House ; and, there- 
fore, no jiossihiiity oi' waiting for a message hom the Prcs.'denl, for esti- 
mates from the War and Navy Departments, or lor the slow progress of a 
bill tiirongh all its usual stages in both Houses of Congress. Such pro- 
ceedings, highly proper for the usual and ordinary expenditures of the 
year, were not only unnecessary, but would have been, to say the least, 
useless for an appropriatio)i contingent upon events then uncertain, and the 
amount necessary for which could not, with any approximation to precision, 
be estimated or foreseen. 

The resoluiion was laid on the tabic at tb.e motion of the chairman of the 
committee, who had reported it, and who then, in my hearing, and in the 
hearing of all in the Hou.se who chose to hear him, gave notice that he 
should, in its stead, move an additional approj)riation in the fortification 
bill then before the House. Whetiier he named the sum of three millions 
as that which he should propose, or not. I do not recollect. He had openly 
spoken in the House before, as contemplating a Zar^^Y-r sum: considering the 
contingent and possible danger against w'hii li it was to provide, I thought 
the sum certainly not too large. 

And now, s r, where is all this sca-Tolding of indignation and horror at 
an appropriation for specific purposes, for Iho defence of the country^ be- 
cause, forsooth, it had not been recommended by special message fiom the 
FiXecutive I Gone, sir ! Gone I You shall look for it, and you sliall not 
find it. You shall find no more trace of it, than, in the tales of the Na- 
tional Intelligencer, you shall find of that vote, ol two hundred and seven- 
teen ayes, wliich was the real voucher (or the purity and o'onuine patriotism 
of that appro])riation of three millions, denounced to the world by the elo- 
quent orators of the Senatorial press, as so profligate and corrupt, that an 
enemy at the gates of this Capitol could not hav(3 justified a vote in its 
favor to arrest his arm, and stay his hand in the act of battering down 
these walls. You shall find no more trace of it, than upon the journals of 
the Senate of the last session of Congress, you sh;dl find of sensibility to 
the wrongs which our country was enduring from France — and if upon 
those jouinals, such a trace cnn be found, it must be to clearer and more 
searching (iyes than mine. 

Then why are we told, that nobody knew any thing of the reasons of the 
House for adopting that amendment to the ibrtification l)iU ? Nothing 
passed in the liousc biU what was known in the other portion of the Capi- 
tol. iVot'iing was to be found on the journals of the other body, that would 
go to sustain the FiXecutive and the country. In another body there were 
resolutions passed, very explicitly declaring that they would not do what 



11 

the Kxecutive recommended but no resolutions were passed, saying what 
they would do. A different course of poHcy was pursued .ty tlie House. 
It adopted unanimous resolutions, and showed tliat, although the measures 
recommended by the PresidiMit, did not entirely me(;t their npjjrobation, yet 
tiiat tiie riyhis of the country, and tlic execntion of the treaty were to l)C 
insisted on. In anotlier branch of the Capitol, at the same time, it was 
not known wliat the House were doing; yet 217 niunes answering, "yea," 
stood recorded on the jonrnals of this House. These were the tacts, and 
an inipartial histoi y of that bill would show, that there was sutlicient and 
ample cause for the appropriation of three n)illions. But tlie three million 
appropriation was received by the Senate, in a most unfortunate temper. 
and as proof of this, it became absolutely necessary for him to refer to their 
proceedings. In the lirst place, the motion i'or the three million section 
was submitted in the House, and little objection was made to it. It was 
perfectly understood by gentlemen on both sides of the House, that it was 
founded on the A'ote of the night preccdiiig, and no one, so f;ir as he recol- 
lected, objected to it, because there was no rcconnnendation from the 
Executive. The vote Avas taken on it by yeas and nays, and it was 
adopted. One hundred and nine names, (said Mr. Adams.) llie first of 
which, m alphabetical order, was my ovvu, are recorded upon the joiunals 
in favor of that amendment, and of those names, seventy-two belong to 
members of this House ; seventy-seven names appear on "the jonrnal re- 
corded agamst the amendment, forty-five of which are of members of this 
House. The proportion of re-elected members is rather larger of the 
names in the afiirmative, than of those in the neirative. But. I have said 
the amendment was received by the Senate in a bad temper— and now for 
the proof The resolution, as recorded on the journals of the House, was 
as follows : 

" And he it, tf'C. That the sum of throe millions of dollars be, and the same is hereby, ap- 
propria'.ed, ont of any money in the Treasury not oiherwiso appropriated, to be expended; in 
whole or in part, under the direetiwu ofihe President of I he United .Stales, lor the mditary and 
naval service, inf-liuiin? fortifications and ordnance, and increa-se of the navy: Provided, 
such, expenditure should be rendeiGd necessaiy, for the defence of the coiintiy, prior to the 
next nieedng of Congress." 

Observf^ what were the purposes of the appropriation. Was the House 
wasting and squandering the public money v/hen it made that appropria- 
tion? No, sir. Shall it be said that the apj)ropriution. if made, must liave 
been wasted.^ Vv'iien an eitetny is at the walls of the Capitol, it will be 
but a sorry objection to make that you have no confidence in the man at 
the head of the Government. He hoped that the matter might be fully 
exposed: and vdiatever might be his relatio)is with the head of the Gov- 
ermnent, he did not think that tliat vote would be charged to man worship. 
Upon, that resolution 109 names were recorded in the afiirmative : andwcro 
these 109 meml;ers to be charged with being man woi-shippers and conspi- 
rators figainst the constitution of their country? Among these names were 
severed, if they were capal)Ie of anything hjce man worship, which, he did 
not believe, the object of whose worship would l;e some other than the pre- 
sent tenant of tlie white liouse; even tiie very men who now made these 
charges agtiinst tliem. He said that the section was received in bad temper 
by the Senate; they immediately disagreed to tiie amendment, it was said, 
with but little debate, and sent their disagreement down to the House. 



13 

He recollected tliat the present Speaker, who was then Chairman of the 
Committee of Ways and Means, did him the honor to ask him what wb 
shonld do, and he, (Mr. A.) said he shonld vote to ro^ede from the ap- 
propriation, because, from tlie temper of the Senate, it was evident, it 
that course was not pursued, the whole hill would be lost. Mr. A. $aid 
he did accordingly vote to re ede, but it was not to recall the vote he had 
before given; it was solely bcciiuse he believed that if the House did not 
recede, the whoh; bill would be lost. As the object of the bill was for the 
ordinary appropriations for fortiHcations, he was unwilling to lose it, and 
tlierefore gave up the three million appropriation to save the remainder of 
the bill. But it was not the sense of the House to recede, and the vote to 
recede stood 87 to ill): the sense of the House vras strong, it was earnest, 
but it was respectful. How was it with the Senate? The next conuiiu- 
nication vvrhich the House received from it was, that the Senate had adhered 
to their disagreement. Ju the intercourse between the two Houses, every 
person knew that adhering was the very last resort — tliat it scarcely ever 
was recurred to except as a challenge of defiance to the other House. 
Wh;it are its consequences.^ I'hey are always to hazard the loss of the 
whole bill; if the other House adhere, the bill is lost. The Senate s;iid, . 
take back your ap])ropriation, or lose your bill — and that at the earliest \ 
stage at which they could pass such a vote. It was well known to every 
man that tlie vote to adliere never passes between the two Houses in good 
temper. It was always considered as a challenge: "lose your bill, or agree 
to what we think will be rinfhi." Mr. A. here read the following: extract 
from Jefterson's Manual, in suj)})ort of his views: 

" When eitht-r House sends a bill in the other, the olher laay pass ii with ain-nulineiil. The 
rcj,'ular progression in this case is: the Coiuiuoiis disagree to "the amendment; the Lords insist 
upon it; the Commons insist on their disagreement: the Lords adhere lo their amendment; 
the Commons adiici-c to their disagreement. The term of insistmg may be repeated as oUen 
as they ehoosc, to keep the ((uc^don i ipen : but the first adhi^renee i)y either renders it necessary 
for the other side to recede or adhere also, when the matter is usually sullered to fall. The 
term of insislinu; was certainly (in KiTfl) a happy innovation, as it multiplies the opportunitic^s 
of trying modification^ which may bring the Houses to a concurrence. Eidier House, however, 
is free to pass over the term of insisling, and to (ullicrc m the lirst instance, but rr is not 

RfiSPECTKUL TO THK OTHER." 

Mr. A. said, he doubted whether in the whole intercourse between the two 
Houses of Congress iui adherence w;is ever before resorted to at so early a 
vStage of a dillerence between them. . He was sure there never had been 
such an instance uidess at a time of bad tem})er between the I louses. It 
was a specitil disposition to cast odium upon tiie House, a specitil bravtido, 
that induced the Seuiitc thus to drtiw the sword tiiul throw away the scal)- 
bard, ;md they adherej). Notwithstanding the ujttnral feeling was, wh«>n 
the bill came to the House, to adhere on their part, and that motion was 
actutilly made, y(>t so anxious was the House to save the bill that they did 
not adhere, neither did they recede : they insisted agtiin, tind tisked of the 
Senate a conference, to which the Senate agreed, although at that time the 
liour was 12, in real time. That cloek (pointing to the clock in the Hall.) 
to be sure, so far as a cloclc eould show, said it M'as not 12. but it was not 
possessed of the ])ower of .Joshua of old who commanded the sun tiiid moon 
to stand still; old Time submitted to no such power, hut moved along re- 
gardless of what was doing here. The committee of conference of tlie 
House v/ent out, and that committee felt themseh-es constrained to consent 
to a reduction of 3,000,000 down to 800.00t) dollars. Thus, sir, this lior- 



13 

rible conspiracy against the constitution melted down to a mere question ol 
dollars and cents— whether the appropriation shonid be 3,00(),t)00or 8CK),()0(> 
dollars. The appropriation was made })0,sitive, instead of being contingent 
upon a necessity not certain to come, and it was confined to two objects of 
permanent ordinary appropriation, still leaving the possible contingent 
danger unprovided for. He had said, and believed, tliat the conferees on 
the part of the House had been constrained to accept this compromise for 
the purpose of saving the bill ; but it was too late — when tlie conferees 
on the part of the House returned, tbat House was no more — it was a lifeless 
corpse. A friend and colleague of his, now in his eye, had indeed said it 
was the noisiest dead body that be had ever seen or heard of. Tbat was true, 
yet it was nevertheless true, the House was de facia dead. The journal 
shows that from that time it was impossible to make a quorum. It was u 
few mitmtes before that, a large quorum was found. He said tbis, because, 
in the National Intelligencer, \W, exiuuplary assiduity of the members of'h/ 
Senate, in the disdiarge of their duties, was invidiously contra.sted with 
the insinuated neglect of the members of the House, wiiere it was insinuated 
that business could not be done for want of :i quorum. But wby wast 1 1; 
House found without a quorum I Because sixty or seventy members, con 
scientiously believing that they were no longer the representatives of the 
people, refused or forbore to anwer to their names. Your journals will 
sliow tbat motion after motion was mad(i to that effect. Many members 
declined answering on tbese grounds, and no motion was made to compel 
them to vote as by the rules of the House, had it still existed, there would 
have been. He was not one of those wlio lot^lieved tliat tbe session ended 
at midnight. In bis ojjiuiou tbe two yeai's duration of Congress was front 
the time of day at which the House commcMiced its session, say the hour 
of noon on the 4th of March. He believed that lo be tbe true cnnstruc-' 
tion of the conslitulional term of two years ; but it was a constitutional 
question, and it was not for him to judire of the inotives of men who con- 
scientiously believed that the period of their political! existence had expired. 
When the Cumberland road bill passed, the question was taken by yeas and 
nays, and the vote was 94 to 80. maldng 174 votes. Here was a quorum 
voting, wliich siiowed tliat the Mouse, at 12 o'clock, was doing business; 
but in ten miiHitcs after tbat, no ([uoruui coidd be i()inid; not in consequcnei^ 
of their not being n)eu;ibers jjresent, but in consequence of their conscien- 
tious scruples. He recollected tbe instance* of a gentleman from Georgia, 
(^Mr. Gilmer,) a man as conscientious and as intcihgent as any member of" 
tliat or the present House, who, u})on being called, refused to answer, and 
gave, as his reason, that he was no longer a repieseutative of the people, 
and. immediately after the vote was taken, wont out of the House at that 
door, and never returned. It wtis not. therefore, tlie want of a sufncient 
munber of members present, but from tbe conscientious conviction of so 
large a number of the members as reduced the remaindm" to less than a 
quorum, that they had no rigbt to vote on nny tbiug in tin,' House. AftcT 
that took ])lace, tbe conuuittee of con(<?rence ivtuined to ilui House, but no 
rejiort was niad(% and v, bat was tbe n.-ason .' B'.^oause tbere was no llousi-. 
The roll was called, and no quorum was to be found. 

He said that he did not consider tin' constitutional term of two yeris, as- 

^Tign(.'d to tlie members of the Hone of Rej)rescntativ<s. and the term oi' 

Jour years, during which the Fresid<'iit of the L'nited States holds his office, 

eominences or expires at midnight. Tbe services of two aj)d of fburyear.s, 



14 

commenced running from the time when the members of the first Congress 
assembled, to commence the operations of this Goverr^ment, nnder the con- 
stitution of the United States, which was on tlie fourth of March, 1781), at 
noon. 'I'he two years from tliat time expired, not on the third of Marcli, 
1791, at midnight', but on tlie fourth of March, at noon. The expiration 
of a year is not from noon to midnight, but from noon to noon. It is so, 
astronomicallv, by the law of nature. The time at wliich a day shall com- 
mence and terminate, is a matter altogether arbitrary and conventional. 
Some nations have, in their civil computation, commenced the day at sun- 
rise and some at sunset, some at midniglit. and some at noon. Astrono- 
mers and naviffc.tors always reclion the day from noon to noon, and why 
should not tlie" constitutional computation of time follow the same law 
which is the law of nature? The principle, once established, could be at- 
tended with no sort of ir) convenience, whereas the computation from noon 
to midnio-ht, must be subject once every two years to a solution of continuity 
for twcl\-o hours by the non-existence of a House of Representatives, and 
once in every four years, to an interregnum or vacancy in die ofiice of 
President of the United States; emergencies might easily be foreseen, per- 
haps even precontrived, in wliich either of those events would be attended 
with very great public inconvenience. Monarchical Governments are al- \ 
ways guarded with the utmost possible care against every solution of con- 
tinuity. Their kings never die. It would be a radical defect in every re - 
public^cui governnirnt not to be invested with the same ofUcial immortality, 
the ofiice always filled, however frequently the individual incumbent may 
be changed. It was, therefore, my o])inion tliat the house might liave sat, 
transacting business, lillnoon of the fourth of March, and accordingly my 
name will be found and recorded on every taking of the yeas and nays 
until the adjounnnent. after it was announced that tlie Senate had adjourned. 
Mr. A. s;ud that was his oj)inion then, and he had then expressed it to 
the House, but it was not the opinion of a large number of memlx'rs of the 
House. The niembers were in tlie House ready to vote, but in their 
t)pinion the time had passed. Now, whatever was doing at that time in the 
House miglit have been known to every member of the Senate, if they had 
seen fit to make the inquiry. It was perfectly known that after that time 
no quorum of the House could be found. No vote was taken. The House, ; 
was (Ic facto de;id. Hut in that slate of things, alter the House was a life-N. 
less corpse, the ibllowing message was sent from the Senate, which Mr. A. 
requested the ck>rk to read : 

" Hcsolvcd, That a Hu*--::.aj;e be sent to iln- honorable the House of Representatives, respect- 
fullv to remind ihc LJonsc of tin- repori of the Committee of Conference, appuiiitcii on the disa- 
<;reeiu!? vo:es of lli'' two Houses, on the anu-ndnient of the fScnate to ilie bill respectini,' live 
fortirioTf.ionsof ilie ITniled Slates.' 

Mr. A. api>ealrd lo the Siieaker. as one of the oldest members of tlie 
House, and in bi.s oilioial capac-'ity. as the cjuardian and vindicator of the 
honor of the Hou.m'. whether, in bis experience in the legislation of this 
coimtry. he had any reroUection of such a message having passed bcstween 
the Uu'--'^ of R'-'])resentative^ and Senate/ A message remiiuUng the 
House of their duty; remindinir the House of what they had to do ; re- 
mi nd in f the House' of the particular business which it was their duty t.o 
take np"'and act upon. He asked the oldest member in the House,. whethcsr 
he had any recollection of anv such mes'^icr'^ having passed between the 



15 

House of Representatives and the Senate, he asked the youngest member, 
and ])ansed for a reply. He licard none : and under these cireunistancc^s he 
tuulc upon hhnaelf to say, that no such messaii^e Avas to be li)rind on the 
journals of Congress since the foundation of tlie Government. Here was 
one hranch of the Legislature turning tli(.' task masters of the other. We 
read ni lioly writ of a judge of Israel who undertook to IcugJi tlie men of 
Suceoih, and it was by scourging them with the briers of the wilderness. 
Since the days of Abimelech there has been no such teaching, as tJiis by 
the Senate to the House of Representatives of the United States.' 

Ue dwelt on this subject, because, if there was to be any .such thing as 
harmony between tlie two Houses, in the discliarge of their duty to the 
people of the country, he hoped that that message would stand as a solitary 
monumoiit and warning never to be repeated. He hoped that .such a mes- 
sage would never go from the House to the Senate. He Iioped tliat the 
House would always be courteous enough to suppo.scthat the Senate of the 
United States knew what was their duty, and would discharge it ac- 
cordingl}^ 

Mr. A. said that no such example existed on the joiniials of the House 
of Representatives. l)ut he was aware that there had been instances of the 
kind in the parliament oi Grent Britain, and they Avere referred to in ?.lr. 
Jeficrson's Manual as follows: 

When p. bill is sent by one House to the oilu-r, and is negikctkd. the)- may .send a raessagi- 
to icmind them of it. But if it be mere inattention it is betlcr to have it duiie inlb.-mally, by 
couimunicalions belwctii the si;eakcrs or nHn)ber.s of the two Houses." 

From this it would be .seen, tli.it the only ctises given inthe Manual, were 
where the House had /wi^Iccicd to act on a bill ; he had consulted ail tb.e 
cases in Hatsell and Grtvy, and others relerred to by Mr. Jefierson in the 
^lanual ; and he found that the last instance adduced of that kind, even in 
the British ptu'liament. w;is in ]7:il. one himdred and fifteen years ago, and 
in all the cases severiilly referred to, such messages never were sent ; un- 
less there was a \-iolein mii^understanding between the two Houses, and 
when the neglect of the bill was extremely injurious. Such was the na- 
ture of the messaiie, which he hojted never would be repeated in the inter- 
course between the two Houses of Congress. But. to complete the true 
character of that message, he must inquire at what time it was sent .? It 
was sent at two o'clock in the morning. It was sent at a time when it was 
known, both in the House and the Senate, that no (juorinn was tobe found. 
When that message wtts delivered, iie must cotiless. if ever a leelinif ot 
shame and of indignation had tilled his lio.som, it was at that moment. He 
felt it as an insult to the imtnediate n^jiresenttitives of the people; and if it 
had been sent at ti moment when the Hous(! yet existed, with the power to 
resent unprovoked insult, he verily believed, thai, miitating the example of 
our Congress in a somewhat similtir ea.so, during the revolutionary war, he 
should have moved that a messtige be .'^ent by two members of the House, 
to cast the Senate mess.-ige on their floor, and tell them that it wjis not the 
custom of the House to i-eceiA'e insohnt mes.sages. It v/as. perhai)s, well 
that he had no opportunity to give vent to those leelinus. What w-re ;he 
feelings of the other members, it was not for liim to say ; atid be did not 
know that he had ever communicated his own to any member ot the 
House ; for he saw that the insult w;is C'lnntiUed on a dead body -another 
AdiiUes, dragging around the walls of Troy his [irostrate and lifeless foe ! 



H 



16 

It was said, sir, thai there had been thrilling and unexampled eloquence 
of indignation at this conspiracy of nianworsliip, servility, and corruption, 
displaved by the House of Representatives, in that appropriation of three 
millions for the contingent necessary defence of the country from foreign 
aggression ; but I trust that I have already shown, to the satisfaction of thus 
House, that all that eloquence was gratuitous, and all that indignation waste- 
fully squandered away, some small portion of which might have been pro- 
fitably expended upon' the foreign treaty breakers, under whose injustice our 
own country M'as smarting. This indignation, and the temper wUh which it 
was manifested, by these re}.cated insults to the House, did strike me as so 
extraordinary, and 1 must add, so unreasonable, that it was impossible to 
avoid the inquiry, where the real sting of that three million appropriation 
did lay, and what it was that had excited this tempest of passion against if. 
And 1 thoui^ht the tnie motive was discernible in that unanimous vote of 
two hundred and seventeen ayes m the House, demanding that the execu- 
tion of the treaty should be insisted on. That vote, however overlooked 
then, or now. had been neither unseen nor unfelt. It Avas not only a de- 
parture from the do nolhiu^c policy of the Senate, but might be felt to con- 
tain a punirent though tacit rebuke upon that paralytic policy. The three 
million appropriation was tlie complement and efficient energy of the una- 
nimous vote of the preceding day. That vote was exclusively the act of 
be House. Th(! appropriation required theconcurrinir vote of the Senate, 
and that vote would have made the Senate the unwilling accessory to im- 
plied censure upon its own c|uietism under foreign wrong. The vote of the 
House could not be nuUitii^d, but its efficient operation might le unnerved 
bv the refusal of the ajij-ropriation ; and so the bloodless ghosts of Execu- 
tive dictation, and man worship, and servility, were conjured up ; and the 
overbearing arrogance of votes to adhere, and messages to remind, were 
substituterf for tire deficiency of better reasons for refusing the appropria- 
tion. 

(ireat horror w;is manifested at the conspiracy and man worship ot ap- 
-propriatinsr thest^ three millions, and that was the source of the triumphant 
messa<^e to remind. Perhaps, lochnically speaking, the bill containing that 
apin-opriation did fail in the House ; but if it did fail at nil. it failed before 
tlic appointment of tlie committee of conference. Its death blow was the 
Senatorial vote to adhere. It failed, because it did plea.-e tlie Senate, in 
their wisdom and pjilriolism. to strike out that a])jMopriation. and to cast 
awav the whole ibrtification hill to exclude that single item. Between that 
(]:iv and the present, we have all liad time to sutler our feelings to cool 
down. He liad su1>mitted in silence to tiie bad temper manifested on the 
part of the Senate. That bad temper was manireslrd not only to. the Pre- 
sident, l-ut to the House of Representatives. It' it had not been now re- 
newed with rcdouliled vigor, and by the transcendent ability which be- 
louired to those who lead the Senate, lie would have remained silent for the 
sak*" of peace and harmony: h'lt now, under such charges, enforced with 
nil the ar^rnmcnts which nine or ten months of meditation could bring to 
minds nl'lhc hi'rnesl order — when such charges went forth to the nation, 
accusing the House of Representatives of an unconstiUitional conspiracy 
with the President on that bill, he could no longer remain silent. Hethere- 
f(^r<- moved th<> rfsohitioii, so that the. House might not trust entirely to tlie 
f.-litt<'m«'nt of fads which he had submitted to them, hut that the committei? 
miLdit inquire and rc]iort to the House, what w<«re the true causes and cir- 
ctunstances which )»roduced the failure of the bill. ' ^ Q Itf 








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